Grape
Parts Usually Used
Fruits and leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Everyone is familiar with the grape vine. The following information pertains to the dark grape species. Grapevines supported on old-fashioned arbors and grown with special pruning methods produce more fruit than those grown on conventional wire training trellises. The top-area is exposed to more sunlight and the pruning secret is to take out some of the hard stems, and to pick off from a third to a half of the small bunches of grapes before they use up too much of the available plant food.
Experts have found that more foliage means bigger, better-flavored grapes. Another variety: the fox grape (Vitis labrusca) is a high-climbing liana vine. Leaves rounded in outline, heart-shaped at base; 3-lobed, toothed, with dense whitish to reddish felt beneath. Fruits about 20 purple-black (or amber white) grapes in a cluster around September to October.
Where Found
Found in thickets, woods; southern Maine to Georgia; Tennessee to Michigan. Widely cultivated.
Medicinal Properties
Nutritive, diuretic
Biochemical Information
Vitamins A, B, C, dextrose, fructose, pectin, tartaric and malic acids, mineral salts, tannin, flavone, glycosides and pigment, magnesium, potassium, iron, niacin, riboflavin, carbohydrates
Legends, Myths and Stories
In the reference book, 50 Years Anthology; The Herbalist Almanac, written by Clarence Meyer, edited by David C. Meyer, in memory of Joseph E. Meyer, “the Herb Doctor”, there is a small paragraph that seems apt here. This quote is reported to have come from the 1585 edition of Dodoens’ A Nievve Herball or Historie of Plantes. ”
Uses
Historical herbalists utilized grape preparations for blood and energy deficiencies, night sweats, thirst, palpitations, rheumatic pains, difficult urination, edema, and dry coughs. In domestic practice, whole leaves from wild or cultivated grapes were placed at the bottom of crocks to maintain the color of stored beans, and freshly churned butter was wrapped in the leaves to aid in its preservation, with cultivated leaves typically preferred.
Native American traditions employed fox grape (Vitis labrusca) leaf teas for diarrhea, stomachaches, and thrush, while wilted leaves were applied externally as poultices for sore breasts, rheumatism, headaches, and fevers, with other Vitis species utilized in comparable ways. Additionally, summer-cut vines historically served as a source of drinkable water.
How Sold
Supermarket
Warning
Do not confuse the fox grape vine with Canada Moonseed (Menispermum canadense), which is considered toxic.
Bibliography
American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
copyright 1974. The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974